In this week’s Market Focus, we cover an acquisition, a new hire and a grand opening.

Zips Car Wash acquires another Cascades Car Wash

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Zips Car Wash acquired its eighth store in the San Antonio, Texas, area last week from Cascades Car Wash, according to a press release.

Located at 2809 Pat Booker Rd. in Universal City, Texas, this site will make 74 stores for the growing carwash chain, the release continued.

“We’re super happy to continue to extend our presence in the San Antonio area,” said Brett Overman, Zips Car Wash chairman and founder. “San Antonio is a great carwash market with lots of residents to serve, and we are thrilled to offer another location to our loyal customers.”

The acquisition of this location closed on June 30th, the release noted, and rebranding will occur for this location within the next 30 to 45 days.

Zips Car Wash hours of operation for this location will mimic the rest of the chain, with services available from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., seven days a week, the release stated.

Zips Car Wash plans to bring its Unlimited Wash Club program to the Universal City location in the coming months, the release noted; all club members can use any of the 74 Zips locations with their unlimited RFID pass.

“With low monthly rates, our customers love the ease and convenience of our Unlimited Wash Club and find it really allows them to care for their vehicles regularly, helping extend the life and look of their investment,” said Overman. “We hope the program will be as beneficial to the residents of Universal City as it has in other areas of the country.”

National Carwash Solutions appoints new director of corporate account sales

GRIMES, Iowa — National Carwash Solutions (NCS) announced the appointment of Keith Burt as director of corporate account sales, according to a press release.

Burt will focus his efforts on penetrating the North American multi-site carwash operator market, the release continued.

“Keith possesses deep technical integration and operational expertise across all product platforms in all verticals,” stated Jim Belanger, vice president of sales. “We look forward to Keith sharing his expertise with fellow team members to help us shape our strategic initiatives and increase market share in the MacNeil and Ryko divisions.”

Burt brings over 28 years of experience to the NCS team in all aspects of the carwash industry including: manufacturing assembly; regional distribution development and sales; national account sales; retail express exterior owner/operator; and, most recently, managing a carwash distribution company, the release stated.

During his career, Burt has been instrumental in commissioning over 400 carwashes across the carwash operator, c-store and automotive spaces, the release concluded.

New Tidal Wave Auto Spa opens in Rocky Mount

ROCKY MOUNT, N.C. — According to the Rocky Mount Telegram, Tidal Wave Auto Spa opened its new location in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, at 1615 Benvenue Rd.

During the last week of June, the carwash gave out free washes as a trial run in order to gauge customer interest and begin building a base, the article continued.

This is the first Tidal Wave location in North Carolina, the article added.

“We felt like Rocky Mount is an up-and-coming city and we wanted to grow with Rocky Mount,” Cory Stevens, Tidal Wave Auto Spa’s team development leader, said. “We plan on expanding in North Carolina.”

Alan Matthews, director of economic development for the Rocky Mount Area Chamber of Commerce, said, “The Chamber and the city of Rocky Mount welcome this new business to the community. They’ve identified a great site in which to do business, with that corner being one of the busiest or highest traffic counts in our city. We wish them the best.”

The carwash is a tunnel wash that will feature free vacuums and provide supplies to clean car windows, the article noted.

“We don’t hand finish the car and we don’t clean the inside of the car, but we do provide or offer everything the customer needs free of charge,” Stevens said.

Stevens believes that despite having other carwash competitors in the area, Tidal Wave’s unlimited wash club will eventually set it apart from the others, the article added.

The carwash has hired 10 to 12 employees, although there were about 100 people who interviewed for the jobs, the article stated.

“We wanted to hire the right people that demonstrated our culture of great service,” Stevens said. “Our goal is to become the official carwash in Rocky Mount.”

Read about the top 100 carwash M&A deals here.